Every business owner eventually exits their business—by choice, by death, or otherwise. For business owners who choose to exit their businesses, they often confront a challenge as their eventual business-exit date approaches: a sense of grief and loss of...
Planning for a successful business exit is an essential part of business ownership. However, there are several elements that many business owners overlook when planning for a successful business exit: How to replace your income How to ensure your...
Recently, we’ve been inundated with the idea that we are on the frontier of an intelligence revolution. And yet, it’s never felt harder to get a straightforward answer, especially when you seek it online. Today’s article is for any business...
The primary goal for many business owners is accelerating business value so the business can provide them financial independence. Typically, accelerating business value is a matter of making the business attractive to potential buyers. But...
As a business owner, you are likely the most important person for your company’s success. But when you are the hub of your business, it can have negative effects on your business’s value, limit your business exit paths, and in some cases make selling your...
Your next-level managers and key employees are likely the most important element in determining your business’s value. Given their importance, retaining these people is possibly the most critical thing you can do to build your company’s value....
When you’re at the helm of a successful business, one of the most important (and counterintuitive) questions to ask yourself is, “Who can run this business when I am ready to leave it?” Whether you plan to retire or die at your desk, the answer to this...
Tax minimization is likely a key part of running your business. When you can position your company to pay only what it must in taxes, it could give you more money to take home or reinvest in your business. But have you begun to prepare...
An accurate business valuation is one of the more important elements of planning for a successful future. But the journey to determine the true value of your business is full of dead ends and pitfalls. In this newsletter, we will examine four elements...
Successful business owners have a knack for finding solutions to difficult problems all by themselves. The sense of individualism and self-reliance is often the spark that started the business in the first place. But as a successful business grows, it becomes...
There are a few better feelings for business owners than winning a huge contract or being offered an opportunity to expand the business. But these big opportunities could come with unforeseen risks. How can you determine when to pursue a game-changing but risky...
Running a business is challenging under even the most perfect conditions. But what happens when you, as a business owner, are confronted with personal tragedies or other events that require you to take time away from your business? Can your business run well without...
In tight labor markets, it can be difficult to hire the high-quality employees your business needs for continued growth and success. At the same time, your business needs to retain the good employees that you currently have so they don’t...
As you grow your business, you will likely make the biggest, most important decisions about the trajectory of your business. But sometimes, this can create bottlenecks. Your business may require you to delegate more responsibility to others for one simple...
For most business owners, growth is good. But there are situations where growth can position the business to fail and business owners to burn out. Let’s look at a fictional but representative example of when growth can get out of control and why it’s so...
External events, like supply shortages and inflation, make running a successful business even more challenging. In today’s inflation market, business owners can be forced to make decisions they’re uncomfortable with, especially in terms of raising...
As a business owner, your employees put added stock into the things you say, how you say them, and when you say them. This is why it’s extremely important to avoid making empty promises based on good intentions. Let’s look at some ways that you can...
Co-owned businesses come with numerous complexities. One of the biggest challenges for co-owners is determining how to approach the exit of another co-owner, especially when that co-owner cannot or will not exit gracefully. Let’s look at a...
Is it possible for a $5 million business to be more valuable than a $15 million business? Let’s look at a fictional but representative story to show how a larger valuation doesn’t always mean that the company is in the right position for you...
The sense of pride in building a business and keeping it in the family can be a huge motivator for business owners. But transferring a business to children for its own sake can have consequential risks for your future, your business, and your legacy. If one of...